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Doom (2018 Novelization) Wiki
Doom is an upcoming 2018 science fiction novel based on the 2016 first person shooter video game of the same name by id Software ''and ''Bethesda Softworks. Doom is written by Ryan Ray Martinus Lee and published through the computer program Blurb. Ryan Lee and Ashleigh Yzerman star alongside Jonathan Hicks, Mark Shewfelt, Josh Vandiermen and special guest Olivia Holt. The story takes place on a ravaged Earth overrun by the armies of Hell, released onto the planet by the Blackwatch Corporation in their efforts to solve the planet's energy problems, opening a portal to Hell in the process. In the company of Ashleigh and Jonathan, Ryan heads a dangerous journey across the country to reach the Blackwatch Advanced Research Complex where the portal was opened, seeking to reclaim the planet and shut down the Hell portal once and for all. Olivia Holt stars as a Blackwatch employee seeking to make amends for her involvement in the apocalypse, leading her to try helping Ryan and his allies in closing the Hell portal. The coverpage of ''Doom ''features the Cyberdemon, who serves as one of the primary antagonists of the novel. Lee's former educational assistances Mark Shewfelt and Josh Vandiermen appear in the novel as well; the latter of which is revealed as the overall main antagonist. Plot In the year 2025, the Blackwatch Corporation attempts to solve the Earth's constant energy problem. Headed by Science Officer Olivia Holt, the Advanced Research Division is able to open a portal between Earth and Hell, seeking to use the energy from Hell to provide a limitless source of energy to the Earth. For several months, the Operation is a success; Blackwatch provides the planet with limitless energy while also extracting and studying the demons from Hell. At some point, Blackwatch CEO Josh Vandiermen deals with the demons and reopens the portal to release Hell's armies on the planet. As a result, much of the human race is wiped out and the planet is reduced to a ravaged wasteland, with very few humans surviving the invasion. One year following the Hell Invasion, lone survivor Ryan Lee makes his way back into his hometown of Langley, British Columbia to retrieve a weapon from his parents' old house. After fighting his way through the demon-infested streets, Ryan reaches his old house and recovers a shotgun and machete. He soon receives a message over his walkie-talkie, revealed to be his old friend Ashleigh Yzerman, trapped in her family's old house. Ryan makes his way across the city where he encounters a pair of Pinkies outside the Yzerman Residences. After dispatching the Pinkies and several other demons, Ryan reunites with Ashleigh and plans to leave the city. Though Ryan would rather fight his way out, Ashleigh suggests travelling through the sewers where there are less demons. Ryan agrees it's safer after they barely survive an attack from a Mancubus, and the two embark into the sewers. As Ashleigh predicted, they only encounter a number of demons during the journey before a cave-in forces them to return to the surface. Upon reaching the surface, they are ambushed by newly arriving Revenants and Prowlers, until being saved by the timely arrival of a military lieutenant who orders them to climb aboard his Humvee. The three human survivors then depart from Langley in the military Humvee, leaving the city to the demons. Once a safe distance from the city, Ryan confronts their rescuer, who introduces himself as Jonathan Hicks. Jonathan berates them for their reckless actions, though he is impressed at their apparent combat skills. Ashleigh then questions him on his military background, to which Jonathan explains that the United States Army had been deployed not long after the invasion, but the amount of demons was ultimately too much for even the military. It is revealed that the army had established a base not too far away, and Ryan suggests stopping by to retrieve whatever weapons might be left. Jonathan agrees that it's a good idea, but points out that the base has been overrun by Hell's armies. Ryan counters that he took out a large number of demons back in Langley just to reach Ashleigh, and claims getting into the army base will be no problem. Following his lead, the three survivors travel to the military base where they find it overrun by Possessed, military soldiers unwillingly transformed into zombie-like demons. Following Jonathan's directions, they fight their way down to the armory just as a pair of Hell Guards arrive on site. In the armory, the three survivors equip themselves with military-grade firearms, with Jonathan soon alerting them to the approaching threat. Ryan is unconcerned by the presence of the Hell Guards, expressing his intent to reclaim their homeworld. Ashleigh points out that such a task cannot be accomplished until they can prevent Hell from sending more demons to Earth. Jonathan advises finishing their discussion once in a safer location. The three survivors fight their way out of the military base, and Ryan uses the RPG in an attempt to repel the Hell Guards before they escape aboard a military transport truck. Cacodemons are summoned to pursue the survivors, but Ryan and Ashleigh are successful in repelling them. After a short time, Jonathan takes them to an old abandoned railyard for refuge until they can form a proper plan. Ashleigh comments on the risks they took going into the military base, but Jonathan assures her it was worth the risks, as they are now better equipped for whatever lies ahead. Ryan confronts Ashleigh on what she meant by "sealing the demons off from Earth," to which Ashleigh has no answers. It is then that Jonathan reveals the story behind the Hell Invasion; the Blackwatch Corporation sought to solve one of the biggest problems on Earth, which they did by opening a portal to Hell and harnessing the energy for the purpose of providing Earth with a limitless supply of energy. However, one of their superiors became corrupted by the forces of Hell and reopened the portal, releasing Hell's forces upon the world and resulting in the near extinction of the human race. When asked where it all started, Jonathan tells him that only the Advanced Research Division had the resources to accomplish such a thing. The origin point of the invasion now revealed, Ryan decides they will make their way across the country to reach the Advanced Research Complex and shut down the portal between their worlds. Ashleigh expresses concern about their future, to which Ryan says they'll figure it out once Earth is theirs again. Though it will take longer, Jonathan advises travelling on foot, as driving makes them too noticeable. The story transitions to a secret Blackwatch Surveillance Facility, introducing one of the Blackwatch board of directors, Mark Shewfelt. It is shown that Mark is in charge of a secret project to weaponize demons captured from Hell and held in a secret research facility located underneath the Surveillance Facility. In the middle of a transmission from the Advanced Research Complex which Mark receives data on Hell's Mancubi demons from head Science Officer Olivia Holt, the Surveillance Facility experiences a power surge, enabling many of the technologically modified demons to escape containment. Per Blackwatch security protocol, an emergency beacon is activated; a signal meant to warn Blackwatch Headquarters of the situation. In the ravaged wastelands, Ryan and his companions are in the midst of sneaking past a number of Imps, Pinkies and Possessed when Jonathan's military-grade communicator receives an unknown emergency beacon. Ashleigh insists on checking it out despite Jonathan's hesitation, believing it could be other survivors. Against his better judgement, Ryan agrees it's worth the risks, and Jonathan traces the signal... to a Blackwatch Surveillance Facility. Ryan sees this as a prime opportunity to find out more about the Corporation's involvement in the Hell Invasion, and they proceed to breach the facility. Inside, they discover that most of the facility's staff have been transformed into demons. Their breaching of the facility also attracts the attention of Mark Shewfelt, who welcomes them to the facility but advises they leave while they still can. Ryan nods his head and Ashleigh gives their answer by shooting the loudspeaker. The threesome fight their way through the facility to reach the Control Centre where they come face-to-face with Shewfelt. Held at gunpoint, Shewfelt admits that harnessing energy from Hell might've been a mistake, but he remains convinced that the risks were worth it; Blackwatch succeeded in solving Earth's energy problem, something nobody on the planet could figure out. Ryan is tempted to kill Shewfelt, but their attention is divided from the Director when Hell Knights teleport into the Control Centre. Shewfelt makes his getaway during the fight, and Ashleigh convinces Ryan to let him go as Jonathan hacks into the facility's mainframe. It is revealed that Shewfelt erased most of the files before they arrived, though Jonathan manages to find a file referring to something known as "Project Cyberdemon Rebirth." Jonathan also reveals that they can now monitor Blackwatch transmissions, which Ryan subsequently counts as a win. Ashleigh suggests they move on as the facility's scanners are reading more and more demons arriving by the minute. The group fight their way through the facility to reach the emergency exit, only for the lift to take them to an observatory located a hundred miles underground. Ashleigh realizes that the observatory houses a secondary Hell portal, through which more powerful demons are emerging. Jonathan advises a new strategy: destroy both the observatory and Surveillance Facility to prevent the demons from reaching the surface. Under Ryan's guidance, they manage to reach the Hell portal where they encounter Hell Knights and Revenants alongside a couple Summoners and Cyber Mancubus. As Jonathan tinkers with the machinery, Ryan and Ashleigh witness the arrival of Hell's Royal Guards, the Barons of Hell. After an intense battle, Ryan and Ashleigh manage to kill the Barons and Jonathan succeeds in overloading the machinery. The survivors quickly retreat back to the lift as more demons emerge from the portal, and proceed to fight their way to the Surveillance Facility's exit, barely managing to escape as the Hell portal implodes, resulting in the destruction of both facilities. Ashleigh is relieved that they made it, but Ryan reminds her that they still have to reach the Advanced Research Complex if they are to have any chance of reclaiming Earth. The conversation comes to an end when Cacodemons descend from the skies, forcing the three survivors to take refuge among the debris. Jonathan reveals that he took some grenades from the military base, and uses them to take out the Cacodemons before they can be discovered. Unfortunately, his actions attract the attention of a couple Hell Guards. Working together, Ryan, Ashleigh and Jonathan are able to outsmart the Hell Guards and discover that they are simply biological mechs each controlled by a single diminutive parasite. Ashleigh notes that things are going to continue to get worse unless they can close the main Hell portal, prompting Ryan to suggest they get moving. When Ashleigh asks how he intends to find the Advanced Research Complex, Jonathan reveals to them that he discovered a recorded transmission from the Research Complex dated a short time before their arrival to the Surveillance Facility. Reviewing the recording, Ryan comes to the belief that the answers they seek lie with the corporation's head science officer. The story then transitions to the Blackwatch Corporation's Advanced Research Complex, a massive facility located in the middle of a former valley, introducing the reader(s) to Olivia Holt. Following her transmission with Mark, Olivia is reviewing her team's data on "Project Cyberdemon Rebirth" when she is informed of the CEO's arrival. Olivia travels down to the main entrance, passing locked down rooms occupied by demons who used to be members of the Advanced Research Division, where she greets Josh Vandiermen, the CEO of the Blackwatch Corporation and the man responsible for the Hell Invasion. She admits that his arrival surprised her, as she hadn't been expecting a visit and is about to hand him a file regarding the Cyberdemon when Vandiermen informs her that he came to check on The Well, the device used to open the Hell portal. Hesitant, Olivia leads him to the main chamber that houses The Well before she is dismissed. Once alone, Vandiermen communicates with Hell, relying the news he previously received from Shewfelt following the destruction of the Surveillance Facility. Hell berates Vandiermen for not monitoring things better and declares he failed, though Vandiermen insists he can keep the portal open. He decides that to prevent the Hell portal from being closed, The Well must be reactivated in Hell. The demons permit him to remove the Argent Accumulator from The Well before transporting him from Earth to Hell so he can begin. As a result, the Hell portal closes, temporarily keeping more demons from invading Earth. It is also revealed that Olivia overheard the conversation from outside the main chamber, and she becomes determined to make things right. With no way of currently shutting down The Well, Olivia returns to her station and sends out an open communications channel intended to be received by anyone outside the corporation. On their way through the wastelands, Jonathan's communicator picks up an open Blackwatch frequency, which he immediately informs Ryan and Ashleigh of. Ryan takes the communicator and answers the transmission, being immediately spoken to by the woman who reveals herself to be the head science officer for the Blackwatch Advanced Research Division. She introduces herself only as "Olivia" and claims to need their help saving the planet, complying with Ryan's demand for the Research Complex's location. Olivia provides them with the Advanced Research Complex's coordinates and urges them to hurry, as time is short. Ashleigh wonders if they can trust the woman, though Ryan seems to trust her words, noting that she sounded concerned and sincere. Nonetheless, he agrees when Jonathan advises caution. It quickly becomes apparent that the landscape becomes more hostile the closer they get to the Research Complex, as they encounter various demons along the way, including Pinkies, Mancubus, Cacodemons, Imps, Hell Guards and Hell Razers. By the time they reach the Advanced Research Complex, Ashleigh begins to think that Ryan is right and the woman is sincere about her intentions. However, it is revealed that Ryan is simply giving Olivia the benefit of the doubt, and he isn't actually sure of her intentions. Olivia grants them entrance into the facility and expresses her gratitude that they came, telling them that they only have one shot to close the portal and save Earth. Her communications are soon jammed, and it is revealed that Mark arrived at the complex a short time earlier, and he decides to give them a "proper Blackwatch welcome" by lifting the lockdown. As the demons overrun the facility, Olivia confronts Shewfelt and demands an explanation, to which Shewfelt counters that she should explain herself for betraying the corporation. As such, he bids her farewell and cuts the transmission feed from his post in the lower labs. Ryan, Jonathan and Ashleigh fight their way through the facility to reach the main labs, where Ryan holds Olivia at gunpoint. Olivia explains that she is sincere about her intentions to help them in their mission. She admits that she played a role in the Hell Invasion, but she soon realized that harnessing Argent Energy from Hell was a mistake, but by that time it was too late to do anything. Ryan lowers his weapon a short time later, realizing that she is telling the truth and asks her how they can shut down the portal. Olivia reluctantly admits that she isn't sure, as the CEO is planning to reactivate the portal's power source from inside Hell to prevent them from closing the portal. Much to Ashleigh's shock, Ryan decides that the only way to keep the portal from opening is to follow the Blackwatch CEO to Hell and stop him from activating The Well. Jonathan asks Olivia if it's possible to reach Hell without a portal, prompting Olivia to tell them of "Project Cyberdemon Rebirth." It is revealed that the Blackwatch Corporation was planning to reanimate a powerful demon they intended to weaponize; a demon powered by an Argent Accumulator. Olivia hesitantly tells them that they can warp to Hell by removing the Argent Accumulator from the Cyberdemon, but she suspects it won't be easy. Mark Shewfelt overhears their conversation via the security monitors and wishes them luck, pointing them in the direction of the complex's storage facility, where the Cyberdemon is kept. Hoping to provide them with an edge, Olivia takes them further into the labs and introduces them to an experimental weapon the Corporation calls the BFG 9000 (or "Big Fucking Gun" as Olivia calls it), a powerful energy weapon that utilizes ionised Argent Energy. Now armed with a powerful weapon, the foursome proceed to fight their way through the complex to reach the storage facility, where they are ambushed by the Cyberdemon. As Olivia had predicted, the Cyberdemon proves to be a difficult opponent, and Jonathan is severely wounded in the battle. Olivia warns Ryan that removing the Argent Accumulator will make it unstable, but the resulting explosion will more than likely transport them directly to Hell. Ashleigh is almost killed by the Cyberdemon, which results in Ryan aggressively engaging the Cyberdemon in close quarters combat. He is eventually successful in defeating the Cyberdemon and removes the Argent Accumulator, which promptly explodes and sends a shockwave out, sending all four survivors to Hell, though Ashleigh and Jonathan are sent to another sector of Hell. The Cyberdemon resurrects itself using Hell's energy, and resumes its attack on the two survivors. After a short time, the Cyberdemon is defeated when Olivia manages to trap it underneath a boulder, allowing Ryan to remove one of its horns and decapitate the beast. With the Cyberdemon defeated, Ryan wants to locate Ashleigh and Jonathan, but Olivia reminds him why they came to Hell. The two travel across the realm of Hell to reach The Well, where they confront Josh Vandiermen just as he finishes work on The Well. Back on Earth, the Hell portal reopens, allowing the demons to resume their invasion. In Hell, Ryan confronts Vandiermen about his actions in dooming the human race to extinction. Vandiermen defends his actions, stating that Hell promised him "so much" if he helped their invasion of Earth. Ryan coldly tells him that Hell deceived and used him before shooting Vandiermen in the heart, killing him instantly. Ryan and Olivia prepare to shut down The Well, with Olivia warning him that doing so might trap them in Hell for eternity. For a moment it appears as though Ryan's going to yell at her, but then his expression softens and he lets go of his anger, seemingly accepting this fate as long as it means saving the Earth. In a last ditch effort to prevent them from destroying The Well, Hell strikes Vandiermen's corpse with a crimson lightning bolt, transforming him into the Spider Mastermind. A ferocious battle takes place, while Ashleigh and Jonathan fight their way through Hell to reach The Well, arriving in time to witness the climax of the battle. Olivia is incapacitated by the Spider Mastermind's powerful attacks while Ryan is able to force the Spider Mastermind to the edge of the cliff they're fighting by. Ryan spots Ashleigh and Jonathan and waves to them before approaching the Spider Mastermind and pulling out the BFG 9000, firing point-blank down the monster's throat and killing the demon instantly. The corpse of the Spider Mastermind plunges into the abyss, and Ryan turns his attention to The Well as he is joined by Ashleigh and Jonathan. After thanking Olivia for everything she's done to help them, Ryan uses the BFG 9000 to destroy the Argent Accumulator used by Vandiermen to activate The Well, causing a chain reaction that destroys the device and sends out a wave of Hell energy that transports Ashleigh and Jonathan back to the Advanced Research Complex on Earth. The destruction of The Well also closes the Hell portal on Earth, preventing any more demons from invading. Ashleigh is relieved that the ordeal is finally over, until she hears Jonathan trying to communicate with Ryan and Olivia, to no avail. She takes the communicator from him and tries to reach Ryan, but it's no use. In Hell, Olivia recovers from the shockwave to discover they're still in Hell, and finds Ryan staring up at the remains of a massive demon lying buried in the ground. She approaches him to find him holding his walkie-talkie, apparently having failed to reach Ashleigh or Jonathan. Unable to reach either of them, Ryan assumes that the shockwave sent them back to Earth. Olivia discovers that Ryan isn't concerned about their own situation, though he admits he wishes that she'd been sent back as well. He turns to face her, telling her that he is sorry she was dragged into this, but Olivia tells him she isn't; in her eyes, she feels this is a punishment for her actions in the first place. After assuring her she isn't to blame, Ryan and Olivia then turn to witness a legion of demons descending upon their position, including Hell Knights, Cacodemons, Mancubus, Imps, Lost Souls, Spectres, Revenants and Barons of Hell. Ryan hands Olivia a pistol and then takes aim at the approaching demons in preparation for the coming battle... The final scene shows Mark Shewfelt standing in the Advanced Research Complex's security room reviewing schematics for The Well, while a security guard approaches him with an Argent Accumulator. Taking the Accumulator in hand, Mark thanks the guard for his generous service to the Blackwatch Corporation before shooting him in the chest and turning back to the monitor. Mark then raises the walkie-talkie to his mouth, speaking the final words in the novel: "I have the Argent Accumulator in hand. You may begin reconstruction of The Well now. I'll be there to oversee things soon." Cast Humans * Ryan Lee * Ashleigh Yzerman * Jonathan Hicks * Olivia Holt * Mark Shewfelt * Josh Vandiermen Demons * Barons of Hell * Cacodemons * Hell Guards * Hell Knights * Hell Razers * Imps * Lost Souls '''(cameo) * '''Mancubus ** Cyber-Mancubus * Pinkies ** Spectres '(cameo) * '''Prowlers '(cameo) * '''The Possessed ** Possessed Engineer ** Possessed Security ** Possessed Soldier * Revenants * Summoners * Cyberdemon * Spider Mastermind Notes * At the beginning of the novel, Ryan travels to his old family house where he retrieves both a shotgun and machete. However, it is never said where exactly he'd got these weapons before the Hell Invasion. ** Though he carries the machete, Ryan only uses it once in the novel during their first encounter with the Barons of Hell. ** He almost uses it during the battle against the Cyberdemon, but it is knocked from his hand before he can do so. Afterwards, he never retrieves it. * This is Lee's first novel where his favorite actress, Olivia Holt, works for an antagonistic corporation responsible for the novel's cataclysmic event. * After witnessing the destructive power of the BFG 9000 in killing the Spider Mastermind, Ryan jokingly thanks Blackwatch for designing the weapon. * Ryan and Olivia's ultimate fates are left unknown. It is likely they were probably killed in the subsequent battle as they are last seen preparing to fight a vast army of advancing demons, though it is also possible that they survived. * Throughout the novel, it is shown that Ryan displays much hostility to the demons, though the reason for his aggressive behavior is never addressed. It can be speculated that the demons might've killed his family at some point prior to the novel. * Though she no longer worked for the company at the time, Olivia is quite shocked when Ryan mercilessly kills Vandiermen in revenge for dooming the human race. * The end of the novel implies that Mark Shewfelt might be working for another as-of-yet unnamed corporation, and that his allegiance to the Blackwatch Corporation was simply to acquire an Argent Accumulator. Category:Browse